Look to the cloud says accountant

With the deadline looming for digital VAT returns, accountants at Truro and Falmouth-based Lang Bennetts are offering practical help to clients who are changing to cloud-based bookkeeping software.

For those who are VAT registered, the need to keep digital records is obligatory from April 2019. All tax-payers, however, can expect to submit online returns within the next few years. That means, says Lang Bennetts, now is the time for businesses to start making the switch if they haven’t already done so.

“We’re definitely seeing an increase in the number of our clients who want advice about which cloud-based products to choose and help on how to use them,” said Lang Bennetts partner, Helen Hood.

“Thankfully the Government delayed its original timetable for making tax digital because it was just creating panic amongst those who have always kept paper-based records.

“In our experience start-up companies run by young entrepreneurs are more likely to adopt a cloud-based system from the start but other longer-established small businesses are having to accept that change is necessary and review their processes accordingly.

“It doesn’t need to be a scary leap into the dark. Quite the reverse. It should make things much easier and our team are trained and ready to explain which systems are most suitable and how they work.”

Editorial director Nick Eyriey is an experienced and respected journalist having spent some 20 years in the local and national press working with newspapers such as The Yorkshire Post, Today, The Sun, and the Mail on Sunday.